Monday, December 11. 2006

There was an article awhile ago on Walter Schweitzer and the role he played in state government which I talked about. It was in a small paper and I have been waiting for the larger media to pick up on the story and see where it goes from there. I finally see the larger media in the state has picked up on it.

I see a lot of the same things in this story that I did the earlier story but since this is a larger paper they got access to the Schweitzer brothers and we heard from them.

Gov. Schweitzer downplayed his brother’s role, saying Walter has little or no role in the administration.

“He doesn’t speak for the administration, he doesn’t speak for me and I don’t ask him to speak for me, unless it’s on campaign matters,’’ the governor said last week. “In terms of policy, he doesn’t have a policy position.’’

This quote is early in the article. If you don't read the whole article you would think the whole thing is on the up and up and think the question has been answered. But later in the article you see a little more that makes you question the Governor's statement.

Last fall, before the December 2005 special legislative session on school funding, Walter helped guide negotiations on what sort of funding deal would be acceptable to the administration.

On the day before the special session convened, Walter presented the proposal to Democratic lawmakers meeting at party headquarters in Helena, according to a lawmaker who attended.

He also took part in meetings at the governor’s office this summer with energy industry officials hoping to do business in Montana, said Rep. Alan Olson, R-Roundup.

Olson, who supports Gov. Schweitzer’s efforts to foster coal development in eastern Montana, said he’d spoken to some of those officials after the meetings.

“They go in, and Walter’s there at the table, discussing parts of their business,’’ Olson said. “It just strikes everybody as odd.’’

The Governor says that Walter has no say on policy but he directed the negotiations on school funding and briefed Democrats on what was acceptable to the administration. That sounds like policy and not campaign to me. You also see he was a major player in the energy policy the Governor has been proposing. Again policy items and not campaign items.

I also note that there are still reports in this article about people being scared to talk to media because they are afraid of retaliation from Brian and Walter. I was hoping not to continue to see these reports but here thy are.

Democratic lawmakers, who didn’t want their names used because they feared retribution from the Schweitzer administration, said they’ve attended policy and strategy meetings at the Capitol in 2005 and early 2006 where Walter seemed to be directing the meeting.

“If you just went to the meetings and didn’t know he wasn’t on the payroll, you’d assume he was on the governor’s staff, helping guide policy and strategy for delivering it,’’ said one lawmaker.

Two members of the Montana Film and Television Advisory Council, which was scrapped by Gov. Schweitzer this year after a political spat between the council and the Department of Commerce, also said Walter called them to tell them they’d been dismissed as members.

“He called us up to tell us that (the governor) was dissolving the council,’’ said Patrick Markey, a film producer from Bozeman. “I never heard from the governor on it. I was very disappointed. (Walter) said he was calling on behalf of Brian.’’

Is such fear a normal and good part of a Democratic process? For lawmakers to fear the administration is bad news. Instead of free and open debate we get people scared to speak their mind for fear the administration will punish their district. Not a very Progressive way to Govern if you ask me.

I will quote myself from the last time around here.

"Accountability and access. Montana has a tradition, enforced by law, of public access to our Government and accountability for it's actions at all levels. Walter, working in the shadows, betrays this tradition in Montana and the Governor needs to realize this. Either Walter needs to be moved into the spotlight and made accountable for his actions or he needs to go home and let the Governor lead the state as he is supposed to. The voters of Montana elected the Schweitzer and Bohlinger team to lead our fair state, not the Walter and Brian Schweitzer team. Hopefully our Governor will act quickly on this issue and resolve it."

Accountability and access. I don't think that is to much to ask for. Those apologists out there that think fear, intimidation, and lack of accountability are the way to run our government really need to think about this a little more. This is a beautiful state that learned a lot from the corruption, fear and intimidation of the Copper King era of politics in the State and we don't need to revert to that. I sincerly hope the Governor will take heed of this.

I understand how it is when you work with somebody close to you, you begin to think alike and sometimes you don't relieve how much assistance that person is giving you and how much you delegate to that person. I think that is what is happening here. I don't think it's a conspiracy or something like that. I think it's happened without either Brian or Walter realizing that it has happened. Brian has relied on his brother for so long it doesn't seem wrong to him. Maybe it isn't wrong, but it does violate the spirit an intentions of the laws our Government works under.

The Governor needs to step back and take a long look at all of this and consider how it seems to other people. The appearance on impropriety is sometimes worse than any actual impropriety and that is what is going on here. Whether there is any thing wrong with what Walter is doing, too many people are seeing something wrong. Maybe Walter should consider moving back to Chester and distancing himself from the Governor for the good of us all and to put the appearance of impropriety to rest. This would help Governor Brian Schweitzer face this legislative session with out this problem hanging over his head.

Just a thought that I know will be ignored by all.

The appearance of variety is a complete illusion. It's like somebody who's got a dartboard in his room, and there's darts all over it, but all I was trying to do was hit the board. That's all I've ever tried to do. Robert Wyatt

Friday, October 20. 2006

I've heard rumors for quite a while now that to approach the Governor of our fair state, Brian Schweitzer, it is necessary to go through his brother. I never heard the name of this brother but I have heard that it is necessary to be very careful what you say because if he takes exception to anything you say the chances of seeing, speaking or even looking at the fair Governor will be zero to none. I have taken these rumor's under advisement since I had no way of knowing any more than the rumors I heard, until now.

Nobody knows what the governor’s brother does, but everyone in Helena knows if they want something done, they’ve got to go through Walter Schweitzer.

Mention the name “Walter” in Helena’s political circles and there’s no question who you’re talking about. Walter Schweitzer, the imposing, bearded, overbearing younger brother of Gov. Brian Schweitzer, is simultaneously Helena’s 800-pound gorilla and state government’s elephant in the room. His regular presence at the state capitol is an open secret that politicians whisper about at cocktail parties, and goes largely ignored by the state press. That’s partly because nobody, including high-ranking Democratic legislative leaders, seems to know much about him, other than the fact that he’s got the run of the governor’s office.

What politicians, industry executives and special interest groups do know is that if you want to get to the governor, you’ve got to go through Walter first.

It's amazing. Normally rumors are not quite substantiated this way but this one sure is. I'm just surprised that that it is being reported on. John Adams will probable now have a very hard time reporting on Montana Politics now because Walter will blacklist him with the Governor.

How does a man like Walter who is neither elected or appointed to any position wield such power? Is it right for such a person to wield such power?

The majority of the approximately 30 sources contacted by the paper would talk about Walter only on the condition of anonymity. Nearly everyone interviewed is a state employee, elected official or registered lobbyist, and nearly all of them said they feared for their careers—or at the very least their ability to do their job—if they said anything about Walter on the record. A lobbyist without access to the administration is useless to industry clients, and legislators need the governor’s support if they hope to pass any of their bills.

When called by this reporter, one source contacted an attorney before declining to speak to me. Another asked me to destroy a facsimile cover letter bearing his name and phone number for fear that someone in the administration might find out he communicated with me. When I contacted one source and told him the subject of my story, he said he’d have to get back to me. When he did, he told me he had talked to friends in Helena who believed I was working for Walter, and that I was “trying to ferret out Walter’s enemies.”

Due to such reticence—along with the fact that Walter rebuffed repeated and persistent requests for an interview, citing his need to get back home to Geyser to complete ranch work before winter—details about Walter Schweitzer remain, in large part, a mystery.

The main question asked by the people I talked to is this: Given that he seems to spend most of his time at the capitol, and given that he isn’t employed by the state, how does Walter make his living in Helena?

State employees and legislatures for the state are afraid to speak about Walter and his role since it would compromise them. Is such fear as this by elected representatives normal or right? No.

Some people have brought up that this might be nepotism. A careful reading of Montana law indicates to me that it is not since there apparently is no state money changing hands for Walter's services. Since nobody knows how Walter makes a living in the Capitol it would be interesting to know where his money is coming from to know whether any nepotism laws are being broken but unless Walter starts revealing the information, we will never know.

Accountability and access. Montana has a tradition, enforced by law, of public access to our Government and accountability for it's actions at all levels. Walter, working in the shadows, betrays this tradition in Montana and the Governor needs to realize this. Either Walter needs to be moved into the spotlight and made accountable for his actions or he needs to go home and let the Governor lead the state as he is supposed to. The voters of Montana elected the Schweitzer and Bohlinger team to lead our fair state, not the Walter and Brian Schweitzer team. Hopefully our Governor will act quickly on this issue and resolve it.

One last note. I wonder if this story will give the Lee newspaper chain, the dominate newspaper in the state, the balls to pursue this story on their own and give these problems an airing to a bigger section of Montana citizens? I doubt it but I will hope. Until then the 800 pound Gorilla named Walter will still use his presence to manipulate the citizens and politicians of our fair state.